


Something Worth Fighting For

by SapphireWolf1122



Series: Something Worth Fighting For [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Babybones, Before the monsters were forced Underground, Character Death, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Forbidden Love, How Do I Tag, Human/Monster Romance, Human/Monster War, Humans Suck, I'm Bad At Tagging, Little Undyne, Love, Minor Violence, Monsters vs. Humans, No Smut, Original Character(s), Pregnant Gaster, Racism, Reader Is Not Chara, Reader Is Not Frisk, Reader can Fight, Reader is a soldier, Reader-Insert, Reincarnation, Sans' mother and uncle, Soul Bond, Soulmates, Swordfighting, War, little sans, reader is female, sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-02
Updated: 2017-01-02
Packaged: 2018-09-14 02:07:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9152797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SapphireWolf1122/pseuds/SapphireWolf1122
Summary: After your family died, you were left alone. Not knowing what else to do, you joined the human army, hoping that it will give you a purpose. One day while on patrol, a monster attacks you but you can't bring yourself to kill him. There is something about him that draws you in and you soon find yourself in the monster military camp. As you grow closer, you learn what it is to live by love and to be willing to fight for someone, no matter the sacrifice.





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hiiiii! Happy New Year! So, I was scrolling through Facebook when I came upon something about soulmates. And suddenly this idea was born! It turned out a lot longer than I was expecting it to be, which is why it is in three parts, though the third is just one scene and really short. I really hope you like it. If not, please be nice. There were multiple times I nearly deleted the whole thing because I felt it was stupid. I'm not even super confident now. But I'm still proud of it and wanted to share it with you all. So here it is. I took my own turn with a lot of things, just so you know. But I hope you enjoy and I do appreciate feedback.
> 
> Thank you!

You were walking with your squad through the woods, scanning your surroundings, on high alert, a hand on the hilt of your sword. Your company was on it’s way to the front line and had made camp for the night. Yours was one of the squads assigned to scout around the camp to make sure it was safe, as you were technically in enemy territory. Though you really didn’t see the point; monsters hadn’t been seen in this area for a long time. The human army had taken much of their land.

 

Hearing a crash in the trees and what sounded like a tussle, you quickly turned around, your sword already halfway out of it’s sheath. But you instantly relaxed when you saw it was just two of the men in your squad messing around. Much like you, they didn’t really see the point in scouting ahead and weren’t really taking their job seriously. You huffed in annoyance and turned back to scanning the woods.

 

Though really, you weren’t sure why you were taking the job so seriously. The only reason that you had joined the army was because there was nothing left for you back home. Your father had been a soldier himself and had died in the war months ago. Your mother and brother, who had been too young to be drafted, had died of sickness. You were a bit of an outcast in your town. You were the only girl in town who knew how to fight thanks to your father, causing both boys and girls your age to shun you. And when you weren’t practicing with the sword or helping your mother around the house, your face was buried in a book. Oh, how you missed reading…

 

But after your family’s death, you saw no point in sticking around. Really, you didn’t see the point of anything and had joined the army on a whim; they had taken you with little question. Though it wasn’t exactly common, it wasn’t unheard of for women to join and your skill with a blade helped you during training. You had no real animosity towards monsters, despite that they technically killed your father; you didn’t blame the monsters for that though. You just thought it would be a good way to get away. And maybe a good way of following in your father’s footsteps.

 

A loud _snap_ brought you out of your thoughts. You made a noise of frustration, ready to snap yourself as you got ready to yell at the two men for messing around. But looking around, you saw that you were alone. Lost in your thoughts, you had wandered off from your squad. Now on high alert, you gripped your sword tight and listened. Not hearing anything out of the ordinary, you decided to head for an outcropping of rocks to your left in order to get some high ground and try to spot your squad. But when you started walking toward it, you heard a rustling sound again and instinctively froze. But then you told yourself that it was probably just some forest animals scattering as they heard you coming and continued forward. That was your mistake.

 

You were suddenly hit from behind, sending you flying forward. Automatically, you tucked and rolled as you hit the ground, quickly getting back onto your feet. Drawing your sword, you turned to see what looked like a stark white figure with a wide grin and orange glowing eyes in armor. Further inspection made you realize the reason they were so white: they were a skeleton. It didn’t exactly take you long to figure out that this was a monster; despite it’s smile, it looked angry. You supposed it had a right to.

 

For a moment, you both stood in silence, staring at each other. You were in a defensive stance, sword raised, your eyes not moving from his glowing ones. He hadn’t drawn his own weapon yet but that didn’t exactly instill confidence in you. You knew most monsters could use magic and this looked like a powerful one. Growing antsy, you spun your sword with a flick of your wrist and pointed it at him, letting him know that you weren’t about to go down without a fight. This seemed to set him off and with a growl, he attacked.

 

Bones appeared in the air, surrounded by orange magic, and shot themselves at you. Quickly taking your sword in both hands, you deflected the bones, barely dodging out of the way of one. The skeleton reached out his hand and made a motion but nothing happened. He did it again and this time you thought you felt something tug at you and noticed an orange glow flicker around your body. You realized he was trying to use magic on you directly. However, human magicians had helped the army blacksmiths to create armor that was resistant to magic. Evidently, it worked.

 

Growling again, this time in frustration, he finally drew his own sword and lunged at you, if a bit haphazardly. You jumped back easily and the two of you started exchanging blows. Though he was strong, you could tell swordplay wasn’t exactly second-nature to him. Not like it was to you. As you were fighting, you felt the ground begin to move beneath you and you instinctively rolled to the side. When you landed, you looked up to see bones sticking up from the ground where you had been.

 

Looking at the skeleton, you said, “Well, now that’s just cheating.” He just growled again. Geez, did this guy know how to make any other noise?

 

Reaching around, your hand found a rock and you threw it at him. The oldest trick in the book and he fell for it. As he rushed to dodge the rock that was actually not even really aimed at him, you lunged from your squatting position, tackling him to the ground and knocking his sword out of his hand. The point of your own sword ended up at his throat...or his neck bones. You had won and he knew it; the look in his eyes was that of defeat. But despite being in the perfect position to strike the final blow, you hesitated.

 

You don’t know why you did. It just didn’t feel right to you. You had never killed before. But he had attacked you first. But you had invaded his territory; to him, he was just defending his land and his people. For all you knew, he had a family. But so did most soldiers. So did your father before he died. And now all that was left of that family was you. You were alone. So why were you even fighting? Would you also be leaving a daughter alone and fatherless if you did this?

 

Seeing you hesitate, the skeleton yelled, “What are you waiting for, human? Do it! Or did you want to gloat over your small victory?” It was the first real words you had heard him speak and it’s what caused your resolve to crumble. Dropping your sword, you stood up, shaking your head.

 

“I can’t. I can’t do it.”

 

The skeleton watched you, wide-eyed. But then his expression turned into a snarl and he once again summoned bones, using them to pin you to the ground. He appeared over you, holding his sword again. This time the tip was at your throat.

 

“You think I would fall for that, human?” he growled at you. “You really think I believe a human, a human soldier nonetheless, could show MERCY? I know all you humans crave is LOVE. And I have no problem increasing my own to make sure there is one less of you to threaten us.”

 

With that, he drew his sword arm back, ready to make the final blow and you closed your eyes. But then you heard someone calling your name. Several someones in fact and you could also hear the sound of rustling nearby. Your eyes snapped open and you saw the skeleton looking up, scanning the trees. You thought he actually looked worried.

 

Without thinking, you exclaimed, “You need to go!”

 

He looked back down at you, surprised. Groaning, you said, “Stop staring at me and go! If you stay, they’ll kill you for sure! And leave me like this, it’s the perfect cover story.” He kept staring at you. You could hear the men getting closer.

 

“GO! NOW!” you yelled fiercely. This stirred him. He looked up into the trees again, then back at you and with a nod, he took off in the opposite direction that the voices were coming from, disappearing into the trees. As soon as you saw that he was gone, you yelled for the men looking for you, using your voice to help them pinpoint where you were.

 

When they finally found you, they struggled to take the bones pinning you out of the ground. They finally managed it and helped you back up, bombarding you with questions that you struggled to answer. As they began leading you back to camp, saying that you needed to report to the commander and see a healer, you looked back into the trees, wondering if he was still there.  All the way back, all you could see in your mind’s eye were bright glowing orange eyes.

* * *

 

You were now being examined by a healer. You had already given your report to the company commander. You had essentially told him the truth, just leaving out the part where you’d had him pinned, failed to kill him, and then told him to run away before your squad could find you. You didn’t think he’d like that very much. He actually commended you for managing to hold off such a powerful monster for so long on your own and reprimanded your squad for losing track of you. He then gave the order to increase security around the camp and dismissed you.

 

Now you were impatiently waiting for the healer to be done with you. Your mind was racing and you needed to be moving. But the healer was not having it, insisting on looking over you thoroughly. Healers were one of the few divisions in the army that consisted solely of magicians and she was using her magic, which glowed a light blue, to check for unseen injuries. Finally, she let you go, declaring that all you had were a few scrapes and bruises. With a sigh of relief, you shot up and walked out, heading for your tent.

 

Before you became a soldier, when your mind was reeling this much, you would sit down to read a book. Reading had always been able to calm you down. But when you joined, you sold much of what you owned, including your books. You had no intention of returning home and didn’t see the point of carrying everything around. You thought someone else might be able to find the same comfort you had.

 

Now, since you no longer had your original outlet, your way of letting off steam was working out. And you thought taking a few whacks at a tree might do it. Climbing into your tent, you stripped off the outer layer of your armor, leaving just the padding on your torso and your trousers and boots. Strapping your sword back onto your waist, you donned a cloak, grabbed your wooden practice sword and headed back out.

 

As you neared the edge of the camp, you saw guards and slowed your pace. Right, security had been made tighter and they probably weren’t letting anybody out on their own now that there was actually a possibility that monsters were around. But you didn’t want to be around anyone right now. Which meant you had to sneak out.

 

Looking around, you saw a decent sized rock not too far away. Grabbing it, you hurled it above the guards’ heads. It landed in a bunch of bushes, causing a loud crash that immediately caught their attention and had them running over. That trick was really working for you today. While they were distracted, you ran out of the camp and into the woods.

 

You didn’t stop running for a while. It felt good, to just concentrate on your breathing and the exertion on your legs, dodging trees, roots, and rocks. Finally, you you came upon a clearing where you could clearly see the camp from. Looking around, you found a thick tree and gripped your practice sword tight. Now _this_ was really going to feel good.

 

With a yell, you swung at the tree. At first it was just random hits but you soon found a rhythm, moving around the tree and doing combinations. After a while, you took off your cloak and then continued at it, sweat dripping down your face and back. In your mind’s eye, the tree became an enemy and you started dodging and rolling to avoid nonexistent blows. As you worked, you mind went over the events of the afternoon, playing it over and over again. Why had you spared him? Monsters were the enemy. Were you just a coward?

 

You were so into the workout that you didn’t even notice that someone had jumped out from one of the trees until they spoke.

 

“Do you have a death wish?”

 

You spun around, eyes wide, holding your practice sword up. Before you stood the skeleton from before but this time he was standing in a relaxed stance, one arm resting on the hilt of his sword, watching you intently. You thought he looked a little annoyed too.

 

Finding your voice, you exclaimed, “Do _I_ have a death wish? What about you? What the hell are you doing here? You’re supposed to be long gone.”

 

“And that’s exactly why I’m here.”

 

You raised your eyebrows. “That seems like a bit of backwards logic to me.”

 

His eye lights rolling in their sockets, which you noticed were no longer glowing orange, he approached the tree you had been abusing, examining it. Every instinct told you to run away but you stood your ground, watching him warily.

 

“What’d this tree ever do to you?”

 

Frowning at his sudden change of topic, you answered with a shrug. “As you’re well aware, shit happened today and I had a lot on my mind so I needed to blow off some steam. But stop avoiding the question. What are you doing here? If they catch you, they’ll kill you.”

 

He turned his gaze back on you, examining you much like he had just been examining the tree. “Why do you care? Why did you spare me back there? And then saved me by not giving me away to your fellow soldiers?”

 

You hadn’t been expecting that. You worked your jaw, trying to find the words to answer as he stared at you, waiting, his eye ridges raised.  “I-I don’t know. It just...didn’t feel right, I guess. I knew you were just protecting your land and your people and I just thought about, what if you had a family. I didn’t want to leave another child fatherless in this pointless war.”

 

Now he looked really taken aback. “You spared me...because you were afraid you would be destroying a family? And you believe this war that you signed up to fight, is pointless?”

 

Blushing, you nodded. Again, he stared at you, looking at you as if he was trying to see your soul. “Are you sure you’re human?”

 

Blinking at the question, you stuttered, “I-I..y-yes...what kind of question is that?”

 

He shook his head. “Nevermind. It’s getting dark so I suppose I should get to the point.” He started to take off one of his gloves. It looked well-worn and tough. A soldier’s glove.

 

Still wary, you said, “Which is?”

 

“I can definitely see you’re not exactly one for patience. But anyway, I returned because no matter the reason, you saved my life and I am now in your debt. I owe you my life.”

 

Your eyes widened and you hastily shook your head, denying his words. “All I did is what I thought was right. You owe me nothing. Any decent person would have—”

 

“And that’s where you’re wrong, human. They wouldn’t have. Especially not a soldier. After all, in this world, it’s kill or be killed.” And with that, he turned towards the glove, whispered a few words and then blew on it. It glowed bright orange for a few seconds before returning to its plain brown color. Looking satisfied, he offered it to you.

 

“This glove is now enchanted. Should you ever need help, simply say my name and I will be there as soon as I can be.”

 

Sensing that he wouldn’t take no for answer, you took the glove, promising yourself that you would never use it. However, you couldn’t resist asking one thing.

 

“You haven’t told me your name.” He frowned at you, seemingly confused. “How am I to call for you if I don’t know your name?”

 

“Oh, right you are. I suppose I should have already introduced myself. I am Paladin. And you are, strange human?” He held out his hand to you.

 

Hesitating for only a moment, you took it in yours. “___. My name is ___.” As your hands touched, you felt a sudden leap in your chest; it was almost like your heart was jumping for joy. No, not your heart, something much more than that, something in the very essence of yourself…

 

Shaking yourself, you brushed it off as simply your instincts reacting to touching a monster. Though you did take note that his hands were surprisingly soft…

 

“___.” As he said your name, there was another leap in your chest and this time you quickly pulled away. Looking up at him, you saw that he was frowning again, but quizzically, as though he had found something that he hadn’t expected to.

 

Backing away, you said, “Well...goodbye...Paladin.”

 

Turning around, you ran back to camp, gripping the tough glove tightly in your hand, determined not to look back. You knew you would never see that skeleton again.

* * *

 

Your ears were filled with the noise of clashing swords, battle cries, and screams. You were covered in dust and blood. You didn’t know who either belonged to. You didn’t know much of anything really, other that you had to keep fighting.

 

Your company had arrived to the front weeks ago and everyday was the same: full of blood and dust. Even on the days when your company stayed in the base camp to rest, you could not escape it. You didn’t know how you were still alive.

 

Out of the swarm of bodies came one screaming towards you, wheeling a battle axe. You had just enough time to see that it appeared to be a dog monster before it was on you. Dodging a swing of the axe, you hit their hand with the flat of your blade, causing them to lose grip of the axe. Then, spinning the blade around so that the hilt was facing forward, you hit them in the abdomen as hard as you could, knocking the breath out of them and causing them to double over, which you immediately took advantage of by hitting them in the back of the head, hard enough to knock them out but not do any real damage.

 

As they fell, you were suddenly surrounded by monsters, all of them making some sort of growling sound as they moved in closer to you. You saw that one had eight arms and was wielding a weapon in each of them. Breathing hard, you gripped your sword tight, feeling the toughness of the glove on your right hand. Somehow, it brought you comfort and your resolve strengthened. You would go down fighting.

 

The first blow came and you blocked it and then suddenly they were coming from all sides. You did your best to catch them but with so many monsters on you at once, there was only so much you could do. Especially when you were the only one not fighting to kill.

 

The first hit caught you on the side, not direct enough to get through your armor but still hard enough to knock the breath out of you and send you reeling. The next caught you on the arm, in between the plates, leaving a long cut that felt like liquid fire. Still, you fought on. But then, as you stepped forward to block one blow, you felt something hit your stomach, going through your armor and cutting you from hip to shoulder.

 

Your sword clattered to the ground as you fell to your knees, gasping for breath. Your heart was beating frantically, as if it knew that its beats were numbered. Your vision already going blurry, your gaze came to rest on the glove on your hand. Despite your resolve not to use it, you hadn’t been able to throw the old thing away. For some reason, the sight of it made you smile.

 

You were kicked from behind, knocking you onto your stomach, sending a lance of pain through your torso, but you didn’t even have the energy to scream. Still, you stared at the glove. It probably didn’t even actually work. Why would that skeleton offer you his help? What did he care if you died? It was one less human that he had to fight.

 

Still…”It was nice to meet you...Paladin...” Your voice came out as a hoarse whisper and it was the last thing you said before your vision started going dark. Before you blacked out completely, you thought you saw a bright orange light. Probably the glint of the setting sun off of armor...

* * *

 

“We should have left it to die.”

 

“I already told you, we are not leaving _her._ ”

 

“Why not? It’s human. They would kill us without a thought.”

 

“She’s different.”

 

“How do you know that?”

 

“It’s a long story. And one that I don’t need to share with you. Now just follow my orders: the human is to be kept safe.”

 

A growl. “Yes sir. But it’s already half-dead anyway, what’s the point? It’s probably gonna die before we even reach the base.”

 

“No, she’s stronger than that. She’ll hold on until we can get her to a proper healer.”

 

The other voice made a noise of disbelief and then seemed to move away. You felt someone lean down by your ear. “You better hold on ___. Prove them wrong.” The voice sounded familiar. You wanted to tell it that all you wanted to do was sleep, why couldn’t it let you sleep? As you drifted in darkness, you thought you heard another familiar voice calling to you, beckoning you further in.

 

“Hold on ___. I need to find out if I felt what I thought I did.” You felt something in your chest respond to the voice. It was a pull stronger than that of the other voice and you silently promised that you would do your best.

 

You suddenly felt yourself being picked up, sending a lance of pain through you and causing you to lose consciousness completely once again.

* * *

 

The next time you woke up, you were laying down on what felt like a pallet. Opening your eyes, you saw that you were alone in a tent. Next to you was a water jug and cup and you suddenly realized that you were quite thirsty.

 

Sitting up, you reached for the jug. It was then you realized that you were not wearing a shirt. Instead, your torso was wrapped in bandages. You also noticed that your movement had caused you very little pain; really, you just felt a little sore.

 

After a moment of marveling, you took the jug and poured some water in the cup. Bringing it to your lips, you hesitated for a moment, suddenly suspicious. But then you came to the conclusion that if they wanted you dead, they would have killed you by now. Whoever _they_ were.

 

At that moment, the flap of the tent opened and a familiar looking skeleton walked through, his face registering shock when he saw you awake.

 

“Paladin!” Without thinking, you rushed to your feet. Instantly, a wave of dizziness hit you, causing you to nearly fall over again. Paladin rushed to catch you, gently lowering you to the floor while speaking to you.

 

“Easy there. Your physical wounds may be healed but the healing process took a lot out on your body, so you’ll still be feeling weak for a bit.”

 

Nodding, you let him lower you to the ground, appreciating the support of his hands. However, after you’d sat down and your head was clearer, you were reminded of something and your face started heating up.

 

“Paladin…”

 

“Hm?”

 

You tried to keep your voice calm. “Perhaps customs are different with monsters or you simply may not have noticed, but you are quite close to me and I am practically half naked.”

 

“You’re...what?” He frowned at you then looked down, whereupon his face suddenly went bright orange and he leapt back with a scream, his hands covering his eyes.

 

“You haven’t got a shirt on.” He was now attempting to look for something to cover you while still not looking at you.

 

“Really? Hadn’t noticed.”

 

“Why haven’t you got a shirt on?”

 

“It’s not like it was my idea. I’ve been unconscious!”

 

“Oh shut it.” He finally found a blanket at the corner of the tent and, grabbing it, threw it at you. Or rather, in your general direction, as he was still not looking at you.

 

Wrapping the blanket around you, you said, “Okay, it’s safe now.”

 

Reluctantly, he slowly lowered his hands from his eyes, an orange blush still dusting his cheeks. Your own face was still quite warm. “If I had a heart, I would have just had a heart attack,” he said.

 

“Again, not my fault. I don’t even know where I am.”

 

He frowned. “Isn’t it obvious? You’re in the monster encampment.”

 

You blinked at him. Yeah, the thought had a occurred to you but it was still strange to hear it confirmed. Swallowing, you said, “Okay...and what am I doing here?”

 

“Your wounds were pretty bad; you needed a healer. In order to keep them safe, we keep our best healers here at the home base.”

 

“How did you find me?”

 

Now Paladin looked really confused. “You called for me.”

 

“No I didn’t, I promised myself I would never use the glove.”

 

“Why would you do a stupid thing like that? But anyway, yes you did. You said my name.”

 

“No I--oh...” The memory suddenly came to you. “I did say your name. But I wasn’t calling for you. I could barely even speak…”

 

“If you weren’t calling for me, why were saying my name?” One of Paladin’s eye ridges were raised and he had a smirk on his face.

 

The heat returned to your face, this time spreading to your ears as well. “I-I...don’t...know...I was half-conscious, probably delirious. Who knows what was going through my mind?”

 

“What indeed.”

 

Was this skeleton for real?

 

“Paladin, back to the subject at hand. I imagine there were some that weren’t exactly happy with you bringing a human into the monster encampment.” You thought about the dream you had had and the two voices arguing over your fate. You now knew it hadn’t been a dream.

 

At your statement, Paladin lost his smile. “Ah. No, they are not. As a matter of fact, I probably shouldn’t be here. I was supposed to let my si--senior officer know when you were awake. She’s already angry with me; she won’t be very happy if she finds out before I tell her.”

 

“Indeed she is not.” You both jumped at the commanding voice that came from the front of the tent. You turned to see another skeleton in full armor at the entrance, this one clearly female. Like Paladin had when you first “met” him, she looked quite angry, though only one of her eyes were glowing and it was purple. She was looking straight at you, gripping the hilt of her sword tight, and you got the feeling that it was taking every ounce of control on her part not to run you through.

 

As you started squirming under her intense gaze, she finally switched from you to Paladin; he looked like he wanted her attention just as much as you did. “Corsiva, I can explain--”

 

“No Paladin. It’s enough that you brought the human here, a soldier no less, insisting that we waste our energy and magic on it to heal it. And now you disobey me by coming in here and conversing with it as though it weren’t the enemy when you should have come straight to me, as you were ordered to do. Do you have any idea how this looks? How  _embarrassing_ this whole thing is?!”

 

“You don’t understand--”

 

“You’re right about that, I don’t understand. Especially coming from you. You have no love for humans, why is it so important that this one be protected?”

 

Paladin hesitated, squirming much like you had under her gaze. Her sockets suddenly went wide. “Have you _bedded_ this human? I swear, of all the stupid, inconceivable things...”

 

For the umpteenth time that day, your face heated up, your heart pounding. Paladin’s head snapped up, his own sockets going wide with horror, looking between you and Corsiva. However, before he could say anything, you spoke, finding that you couldn’t stay silent anymore.

 

“Would you stop talking about me like I’m not here?! I’m human, not deaf! And if you would just listen to Paladin for one second instead of not letting him get a word out and making wild accusations, you’d know why he did a stupid thing like bring me here instead of leaving me to die like he should have!”

 

The purple glow in Corsiva’s eye intensified as her anger spiked and she returned her gaze to you, making you suddenly really wish you hadn’t spoken. “It is taking all of my willpower not to kill you, human, and my patience is wearing thin. So do not test me. I have little tolerance for monster killers as it is.”

 

“Corsiva, that is what I have been trying to tell you. She’s not like the other humans. She spared me and then saved my life. That is why I had to save her; I was in her debt.” Paladin rushed to get his words out so as not to be interrupted again.

 

Corsiva stared at Paladin in disbelief, the glow of her eye going down until just her eye lights were left. Her gaze shifted to you then back to him. She was speechless for several moments but then finally managed to respond, looking a little angry again.

 

“Why would a human soldier do something like that?”

 

Paladin shrugged. “I asked her the same thing. She just said it was what felt right; she was afraid of ruining a family by killing me.”

 

Now Corsiva really looked shocked. Leveling her gaze on you again, she said, “Why would his family matter to you?”

 

You met her gaze. “It wasn’t so much just his family; it’s every soldier’s family. This stupid war has torn too many apart; it took my father from me. I did not wish to be responsible for tearing apart any more.”

 

Both skeletons blinked at you. Then, drawing herself up, Corsiva said, “Well it would seem I owe you a thanks. I know his family would have indeed been quite devastated.” Inexplicably, this drew a sigh from Paladin, which she ignored. “But I still do not trust you. You are still a soldier; who knows how many other monsters you’ve killed?”

 

You straightened as well, suddenly feeling bold. “I agree that you have every right not to trust me. But you are a soldier too. How many humans have you killed?”

 

A flash of anger flickered across her face and she took a step towards you. “I fight to protect my people. _I_ did not start this war.”

 

“Neither did I.”

 

“And yet you joined the army that did. What do you fight for then?”

 

This brought you up short. “I-I...don’t know…”

 

“So you fight for the sake of fighting then? You enjoy battle?” There was a note of triumph in her voice, as though felt like she’d finally caught you. This fired you up again; you didn’t like being falsely accused.

 

“No, I don’t. I joined the army because there was nothing left for me at home. My father was killed in battle and the rest of my family died of sickness. I was alone and I didn’t have anybody in my town; I couldn’t be there anymore. I’m good with a blade so I thought I’d join; it was the only place I seemed to fit.” Your eyes met Corsiva’s. “And as for the monsters I’ve killed, I haven’t.”

 

“ _What?_ ”

 

“I haven’t killed any monsters. I only ever incapacitated them and then moved on.”

 

“You expect me to believe that? The humans would have surely brought you in for treason.”

 

You shrugged. “Believe what you want, it’s the truth. And I suppose you’re right, if they had caught me doing it.”

 

Paladin spoke up. “You could have been hanged.”

 

You looked at him and just shrugged again. He frowned and stared at you intently.

 

Corsiva broke the silence. “You are indeed a strange human. I still say that it is too dangerous for you to be here; I shall bring this matter to the king and queen. They shall decide your fate.”

 

“You wouldn’t kill her after we just saved her, would you?” Paladin exclaimed.

 

She didn’t look at him. “As I said, it is not up to me.” And with that, she turned to go. But Paladin wasn’t done.

 

“Corsiva!” She didn’t turn around. “Sister!” At that, she did stop, though she still didn’t turn. Your eyes widened. Sister?

 

“She saved my life.”

 

You saw her back stiffen but she didn’t say a word and kept moving after a moment.

 

With a yell, Paladin kicked the water jug.

* * *

 

It was several hours before you heard anything. You were confined to your tent; two guards were posted out front. A healer was permitted in to look you over; they muttered to themselves the whole time. They didn’t seem particularly bothered by the fact that you were human, they just seemed to feel that their energy was being wasted, which you couldn’t help agreeing with.

 

Paladin left when the healer came and didn’t return for a long time, which you were a little disappointed about. He was the only real friendly face around and someone to talk to while you waited would have been nice.

 

Finally, he came back, looking grave and holding what looked like a shirt and cloak. Tossing them to you, he said, “Here, put these on. You’ve been summoned to the royal tent.”

 

Doing as you were told, you asked, “What does that mean?”

 

He didn’t look at you. “I’m not sure.”

 

“Paladin.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“You’re a bad liar.”

 

That made him turn around; he looked you up and down. “Yeah, I suppose I am. Come on, we shouldn’t keep them waiting.”

 

He held the flap of the tent open for you and you stepped outside for the first time in what felt like forever. A breeze hit your face and you breathed in deeply. Once you were completely outside of the tent, the two guards fell in behind you. Paladin began leading the way through the camp and you kept pace with him, gazing around the camp curiously.

 

It seemed a lot like any war camp: bustling with activity. It was about dinner time, so many soldiers sat around fires, eating and talking, even laughing with one another. Others were going about errands or sitting outside of their tents, sharpening weapons. You heard the familiar sound of practice fighting a little way off in the distance. As you looked, you marveled at all the different types of monsters you saw, from dog monsters and froggits to fire monsters.

 

After a few moments, you realized you weren’t the only one staring in curiosity. Many of the monsters stopped their conversations or what they were doing to look at you as you passed. Most glared at you as you passed and you silently willed Paladin to move faster.

 

Suddenly, there was a blue flash in front of you and something hit the ground with a loud a thud. Looking down, you saw that it was another skeleton but this one was a child. He stood up excitedly and ran towards Paladin.

 

“Uncle Paladin, did you see? Did you see me do it? I teleported! All by myself!”

 

Paladin’s permanent grin went wide and he scooped up the little skeleton. “I sure did Sans. Good job. My goodness, you’re getting big.” He jumped up and down a little, causing Sans to giggle and you smiled at the scene. “You weigh a ton.”

 

Sans smirked at that. “A skele-ton?”

 

Paladin’s eye lights rolled in their sockets. “You are a little funny-bone, aren’t you?”

 

Giggling again, Sans asked, “What are you doing, Uncle Paladin? Who is that?” He was now looking at you.

 

Paladin’s smile was now strained. “I’m taking this human to see your mom and the king and queen.”

 

The little skeleton’s eyes went wide. “That’s a human?” He looked at you intently. “Humans look funny.”

 

This caused you to laugh out loud. The sound made Sans jump and hide his face in Paladin’s neck. Sobering, you said, “I’m sorry little one. I was only laughing.”

 

Sans peeked up, looking at you curiously. “Humans laugh?”

 

“Sometimes, if something tickles our funny bone,” you responded with a wink.

 

This brought him out completely, though he still looked nervous. “What’s your name?”

 

“I’m ___. It’s very nice to meet you Sans.” You held up your hand, palm up. His sockets going wide, Sans touched your hand tentatively and then, growing bold, grabbed it, squeezing your flesh between his skeletal fingers. You tried to keep in another giggle. Looking up at you, Sans said, “Mama says humans are bad and scary. But you don’t look scary.”

 

“Why thank you.”

 

Paladin chose that moment to cut back in. “Okay Sans, we have to go. Say goodbye to ___.”

 

“Aaaww, can’t I come?”

 

“No, this meeting is no place for a babybones.”

 

“You said so yourself that I was getting big.”

 

“Well you’re not quite big enough for this.”

 

Sans went to protest some more but you spoke before he could. “Hey Sans, could you show me that cool thing you did earlier? I haven’t seen many monsters use magic before and I’ve never seen one teleport. You want to show me how it’s done?”

 

This got Sans excited again and he nodded eagerly, climbing down out of Paladin’s arms. “Okay. You really think it was cool?”

 

With a smile, you said, “So cool.”

 

“Wow. Then watch this!” A look of concentration came upon his little face and in a flash of blue, he was gone.

 

Once he’d disappeared, your group started walking again. Looking at you, Paladin asked, “How did you know how to do that?”

 

You shrugged. “I had a little brother. You learn how to get them to think that something they don’t want to do is actually a really good idea.”

 

He grunted at that. Raising an eyebrow at him, you said, “So Uncle Paladin, huh?”

 

An eye ridge of his own going up, he responded, “Yeah, my sister’s kid. Is that surprising?”

 

“Yes, actually.” He laughed at that. “Who managed to tie her down?”

 

Still looking amused, he said, “The royal scientist, Gaster. He helps us understand human machinery, especially war machinery. You humans may have few magicians but you sure have ways of making your own fire power and we need to know how to battle against it.”

 

“A scientist and a soldier? An interesting combination.”

 

He shrugged. “They fit in their own way. They’re SOULmates; no matter their individual personalities, they were meant to be together.”

 

You frowned at the way he said soulmates, as though he meant it literally rather than the usual metaphorical connotation. However, you had another question that distracted you from that.

 

“And what about you? Have you found your...soulmate?”

 

Pausing, Paladin looked at you for a moment; it was as though he was searching for something. Finally, he answered. “If you’re asking if I have a mate and child of my own, then the answer is no.”

 

You let out a breath that you hadn’t realized you’d been holding and you felt a pressure in your chest release. You realized that you had been anticipating his answer and you didn’t know why.

 

Your group reached the royal tent. Stopping in front of it, Paladin turned to you. “Are you ready?”

 

Meeting his gaze, you nodded, trying to appear braver than you felt. The two of you stepped inside, your guards staying outside. The sight that met you inside made you want to turn right back around.

 

Inside the tent there was a round war table. Behind, sitting on thrones were the king and queen. Both were goat monsters. The queen seemed to have a kind face, though it was grim as she watched you and Paladin enter, her red eyes following you. The king was much more intimidating. Broad-shouldered and muscular, he wore golden armor. He had yellow hair and beard; his crown sat on his head. Both had the Delta Rune on their chest. On the king’s right was what looked like a giant turtle, a war hammer hanging from a strap on his shell. On the queen’s left stood Corsiva, her arms crossed, watching you approach.

 

As you reached the foot of the thrones, Paladin knelt before them. You followed suit, thinking it might be best not to offend them any more than they probably already were.

 

“So this is the human.” You jumped at the king’s loud, booming voice.

 

“Yes, King Asgore,” you heard Paladin answer beside you.

 

“Corsiva has told me some interesting things about them and why you brought them here. I would like to hear it from you Paladin.”

 

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Paladin began telling them the story of your first meeting. Though you had been there, you found yourself listening intently, interested to hear it from his point of view.

 

Once he had finished, the tent was silent for a long time. Finally, the king looked at you. “It would seem that you are not like others of your kind.”

 

You did not answer, keeping your gazed lowered, waiting for him to continue. “However, our past history with humans makes it hard to believe that we could ever truly trust you. Corsiva here believes that we should make an example of you. Execute you and then send you back to the humans as a message.”

 

You flinched and you heard Paladin growl beside you. “My wife on the other hand believes you should be spared, perhaps even sent home. Gerson, my primary war advisor, thinks we shouldn’t judge you for a reputation that you have no fault for. He suggests keeping you as a prisoner and learning from you.” He went silent for a moment, staring at you thoughtfully.

 

“Now, I ask you human, what do you believe we should do with you?”

 

You only hesitated for a moment. “I believe you should do what you feel is best for your people, Your Majesty.”

 

All four before you looked surprised at your answer. The turtle, Gerson, gave you a small smile and a nod.

 

“You do not wish to go home?” the king asked.

 

You shrugged. “I have no home to go to, Your Majesty. This war has left me without a family and I have never been able to find a place among my fellow humans.”

  
“I see.” Another moment of silence while the king thought. “Then I think I shall compromise all of my advisors’ suggestions. You shall remain with us, a prisoner of war, and we shall learn from you. You will be allowed to roam about the camp but you will always have an escort. You will have to work but we will determine that at a later time. If you are deemed to be trusted, we will set you free; what you choose to do with that freedom is up to you.” His voice suddenly became dark, threatening. “However, if you prove untrustworthy, if you harm or put any of my people in danger, you will be sentenced to death.”


	2. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You integrate into monster society

You were put under Paladin’s charge, since he was the one who brought you here in the first place; you found that you had no problem with this. Over the next several weeks, you spent a lot of time together as he helped you integrate into the monster encampment and taught you about them.

 

You soon learned that most of the monsters were actually in the mountain that the camp was at the base of. After the war started and humans started taking their land, the monsters retreated to the mountain and began building villages inside of it. The mountain itself seemed to have some kind of magic of it’s own; you heard that it snowed constantly in one part but was always scalding hot in another. The monsters used their own magic to help create suitable living environments for all of them. They called the mountain Mt. Ebott.

 

All of the soldiers stayed on the surface in order to help keep the entrance protected and hidden. It didn’t take you long to see that they were severely outnumbered by the human army. Paladin said that there were more monsters scattered throughout the world but they were either found and killed by the humans or chose not to fight and remain hidden. Some simply couldn’t live outside of their home environment.

 

You were currently taking a break from working. After it was discovered that you had some talent for cooking, they had assigned you to work for the chef, a fire monster with a loud voice and cheery attitude. He took to you surprisingly quick despite the fact that you were human. He had a young son named Grillby who helped him. A few years older than Sans, he was the opposite of his father in demeanor but his equal in the kitchen. He was often found experimenting with different ingredients in attempts to make something new from the standard rations. Though he was one for few words, he, like his father, was kind to you and often asked you to tasted his experiments, which you did with varying degrees of interest and caution.

 

You sat under a tree, across from the practice fields where the soldiers trained, waiting for Paladin to meet you. The two of you had taken to eating together; since you worked with the cook, you had access to the food when it was fresh. You had found that you liked talking to him. It was easy, as though you had known each other your whole lives. You both took the opportunity to learn about each other.

 

As you waited, you watched some of the monsters train. You found it fascinating the way they combined fighting with weapons and magic. Human magicians were rarely foot soldiers, so you had never seen it used like this. You did feel that they relied a little too much on magic; you felt this caused them to lose technique.

 

Right now you watched as two monsters sparred. One was a senior officer, the other one young and inexperienced. This was especially evident as the senior officer pressed on the younger. The older one had the same magic type as Paladin and seemed to be using it to make his blows come down harder, stronger. You’d noticed the other’s magic was green and they usually used it to help shield from blows. But they were unable to concentrate on their magic enough to manifest one, so fast and strong were the blows of their opponent. This was causing them to panic and lose form.

 

They was suddenly hit with a blow so hard, it sent them flying across the field. You saw as the bar of light appeared before them and lowered. You had been perplexed when you first saw this. Thanks to Paladin, you now knew that monsters called it their health points, or HP. Part of their magic, it was how they knew how much damage their body had taken in a fight.

 

The young monster had landed near you, their practice weapon at your feet. Picking it up, you quickly handed it to them, whispering, “He concentrates all of his magic and blows in his upper body, leaving his lower unprotected. Get in close so as to hinder his longer reach and then use your weapon to sweep his legs.”

 

The young monster looked at you in shock. You handed them their weapon and pushed them back into the practice circle. They looked back at you, unsure, and you gave them a nod. Reluctantly turning back towards their opponent, they took their stance and immediately the other charged. Their face set and eyes glowing green, the young one charged too, stepping into the reach of the other’s arms. Not expecting this, the blow he had intended for the young one missed, his arm catching on their shoulder. Now inside his reach, they used the hilt of their sword to hit him in the abdomen, causing him to step back, and then, making a 180 turn, spun their sword over their head and down, catching him behind the leg and sweeping it out from under him.

As he hit the ground with a loud crash of armor, his own weapon flying out of his hands, the young monster brought the point of his sword to hover over his chest, a look of triumph on their face. The other looked shocked. Both looked at you, one with an expression of thanks, the other with one of anger.

 

The officer suddenly leapt to his feet and made his way to you, his magic pulsing around him as it responded to his emotions.

 

“What do you think you’re doing human? Think you can just interfere in a training session like that?”

 

You stayed calm. “I was merely trying to help. I told them how to use their strengths and your weaknesses against you.”

 

“You calling me weak?”

 

“No. But we all have weaknesses. Yours is relying too much on brute strength alone, along with your magic, but that’s not just you.”

 

“Ah, you think you know better? Typical of a human, thinking they know everything. Someone ought to put you in your place.”

 

“Destrian, no!”

 

Suddenly, the younger monster jumped in front of you. Growling, the one who’s name was Destrian said, “Get out of my way Rowan.”

 

“No, they did nothing wrong. You’re just mad that I beat you and they helped me do it.”

 

“How _dare_ you--”

 

“What’s going on here? Destrian, what are you doing with ___.” You felt instant relief at the sound of Paladin’s voice. Looking around, you saw him approaching, Gerson close behind him. You thought you saw a flash of blue behind Gerson but didn’t dwell on it. You did notice that a lot of monsters had gathered to watch the scene and your face burned from embarrassment.

 

As Paladin and Gerson approached, Destrian stepped back, though he still looked angry. “Your human here seems to think they know how to fight better than us. I was about to show them just how wrong they are.”

 

“Did it occur to you that perhaps she is not wrong and that you may have something to learn from her?” Gerson said. “She was a human soldier. She knows how they fight.” You were surprised to here him speak on your behalf. Though Gerson had never shown ill will towards you, you had never thought he liked you enough to defend you.

 

“That they were a soldier should be more than enough reason that they have been killed when the came here. But our king seems to be going soft.”

 

“I suggest you choose your words carefully when it comes to speaking of King Asgore. I’m sure he will be the first to show you just how _soft_ he’s gotten.” Paladin’s voice had taken a dangerous tone as he spoke. “Now, step away from _my_ human and go back to training your troops.” You felt your heart constrict as he said “my human.”

 

Destrian worked his jaw before answering. “Yes sir…” Giving you one last glare, he turned to go. However, Rowan did not move from in front of you until he was sure that he wasn’t coming back.

 

Stepping up to the two you, Paladin said, “Thank you Rowan. I know that couldn’t have been easy for you.”

 

Nodding, Rowan looked at you, a conflicted look on his face. Finally, he said, “Thank you for helping me. Do you-Do you think you could give me some more tips? I’ve never been the best fighter.”

 

Smiling kindly at him, you nodded your head, saying, “You’re welcome Rowan, thank you for protecting me. And I would love to help you, so long as your king says it is okay for me to.”

 

“I will have a talk with him. I think you helping to train our soldiers might be a very good idea,” said Gerson.

 

Paladin frowned. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? Just look at how one soldier reacted to a human helping.”

 

“And look how another was willing to take their advice. We are meant to learn from this human. I think it’s time that we did. The soldiers will get used to it. They may even learn to appreciate it.”

 

Paladin looked he wanted to protest further but you spoke before he could. “I appreciate your concern Paladin but if the king says I can, I want to do this. Besides, I can take care of myself. You know that first hand, don’t you?” You winked at him, causing him to look taken aback and for Rowan and Gerson to burst out into laughter.

 

Suddenly, a blue blur came out from behind Gerson and tackled you, a high voice yelling, “FIGHT ME!” as it did. Now on top of you was another monster child, this one looking like a blue fish with red hair. In her hands appeared a spear but before she could use it, Gerson swooped her up,

 

“Undyne, what did I tell you about attacking strangers?”

 

Her head drooping, Undyne responded, “To not to…”

 

“Good. Now, be nice and apologize, you little punk.”

 

He placed her down on the ground and she looked up at you grudgingly. “Sorry I tried to fight you without your permission,” she grumbled.

 

Laughing, you said, “It’s okay. You know, I’m going to be helping teach the soldiers fighting techniques but I’m a little out of practice. You want to help me?”

 

Undyne’s eyes went wide and she now looked very excited. “You mean you’ll fight me?”

 

Laughing, you nodded and she started jumping up and down in excitement. “You hear that Gerson? Someone is gonna fight me!”

 

“You don’t know what you just agreed to,” Gerson said, giving you a look.

 

You shrugged. “I’m sure I’ll be fine. She’s so cute.”

 

That stopped Undyne. She looked up at you, a frown on her face. “I’m not cute.”

 

Holding up your hands, you said, “Okay. You’re not cute.”

 

“I’m a terrifying warrior.”

 

“Right you are.”

 

That brought a laugh out of everyone except Undyne, who looked defiant.

* * *

 

Later, you were walking with Paladin toward the side of camp where he and his sister and her family camped. You were a little nervous about eating with Corsiva but Paladin insisted, saying that she was better when you got to know here. At least you’d get to see Sans; you’d come to grow fond of that babybones.

 

As you walked, Paladin was telling you about Undyne. “Her parents were great warriors but they were killed in the early waves of the war. Gerson took her under his wing after that and she’s been determined to follow in her parents’ footsteps and prove herself a great warrior.”

 

“Poor thing. To lose her family so young. I’m glad she was able to find someone to take care of her.”

 

“Quite.” Paladin was giving you a strange look and you met his gaze. As he usually did when he was looking at you like this, he seemed to be searching for something.

 

“Paladin.”

 

“Hm?”

 

“Can I ask you something?”

 

“I believe you just did.” You gave him an exasperated look as he smirked at you. “But I suppose I’ll allow for another question.”

 

You took a deep breath, trying to find the courage to ask what you wanted. “Earlier, with Destrian, he called me your human. I just figured he was trying to get under your skin...or bones...either way, to rile you up. But then...you called me your human...I was just wondering...what did you mean by that?”

 

The expression on Paladin’s face went soft but before he could answer, there was a flash of blue and something landed in your arms. That something turned out to be Sans.

 

“___! You came!”

 

Laughing, you said, “Of course I did. Couldn’t disappoint you, now could I?”

 

Sans giggled. “Wanna hear a joke?”

 

“You know I love your jokes.”

 

“Knock knock.”

 

“Who’s there?”

 

“Justin.”

 

“Justin who?”

 

“Justin time for dinner!” Sans threw his arms in the air as he finished the joke, clearly proud of it, which is what really made you laugh.

 

“Well good, I’m starving.”

 

“Knock knock.”

 

“Who’s there?”

 

“Sadie.”

 

“Sadie who?”

 

“Sadie the magic word and watch me disappear!” When he finished this one, he really did disappear in another flash of blue, appearing several feet away. “Come on! You’ll finally get to meet Dad!” With that, he ran off to where his parents were finishing preparing dinner.

 

“Geez, he didn’t even say hi to me. I used to be his favorite person, y’know. Now you’re all he talks about.”

 

“What can I say, the boy’s got good taste.” You smirked.

 

“That he does.” That wiped the smirk off your face and your mind came back to what you’d asked him before Sans had appeared in your arms. He hadn’t had the chance to answer. Would he now? He was staring you, looking like he wanted to say something.

 

“Come on. We shouldn’t keep them waiting.” With that, he made his way to the fire and with a sigh, you followed.

 

The dinner went better than you were expecting. Corsiva stayed civil with you. Her husband, Gaster, seemed fascinated by you and kept asking you questions about life as a human. He did try to pick your brain about the about some of the newer war technology such as cannons and guns but you’d never actually used either so you weren’t very helpful. After that, he continued to ask you more general questions.

 

As you talked, you kept glancing at Paladin, who was sitting next to you. You noticed that he hadn’t really taken his eyes off of you the whole time and it was making you fidget. Your eyes shifted to Corsiva, who you saw was also staring at you, except her sockets were narrowed and looking between you and Paladin.

 

Meeting her gaze, you decided to try talking to her. You had a question that had been nagging at you for a while. “Corsiva, I have been wondering: why aren’t there more skeleton monsters around? It seems to just be the four of you. Are the rest civilians in the mountain?”

 

Everyone grew still; even Sans stopped practicing moving things with his magic. As you continued to meet Corsiva’s gaze, you thought you saw the purple glow begin to build in her eye but it disappeared after a moment. After several moments of silence, you thought you weren’t going to get an answer. But then she started to speak.

 

“Even before the war began, we were becoming few and far between. We’re not really sure why it started happening but it did: we were dying out. When the war started, I was the only one with a family of my own and they all joined the fight. I, as a member of the Royal Guard, was made the leader of our squadron. We were given special assignments, ones that involved a little more stealth. We did our job well.”

 

“But we were still in a war and so we took casualties. Every few missions, our numbers grew smaller. But still we fought on. On our last mission, we were guarding one of our outposts, just providing some extra muscle. Humans found us; we’re not sure how but they did. Over a hundred attacked our small outpost. We fought as hard as we could. They had no magicians so we had an advantage with magic but there was only so much we could do. Using magic tires us out and we were giving it our all that night. One by one, the humans picked us off, until it was just me and my brother. Paladin wanted to keep fighting; as did I but I had already lost so many friends, family, I did not wish to lose him too. So I insisted that we retreat and we did. We ran away as the dust of those we loved floated around us and the humans took yet another thing from us. I swore then that I would not quit until this war was won; that no matter how hard things got, I would persevere, for the sake of my family, my king, and my people.”

 

Several moments of silence followed as Corsiva finished her story. You were speechless. Sans started tugging on your arm, sensing something was wrong and trying to distract you. But before you could answer, several guards came running up.

 

“Corsiva! Paladin! Gaster! The king and queen require your presence at the royal tent! The human is to be sent to her tent and is to remain there.”

 

Immediately, all three stood. Paladin looked down at you. “Adrian, can you please escort ___ back to her tent?”

 

“Yes sir.”

 

“And Landon, please take my son to Grillby and his father. They’ll watch over him,” Corsiva commanded.

 

“Yes ma’am.”

 

The one that Paladin had called for, Adrian, approached you and started guiding you towards your tent. You kept looking back, watching Paladin as he went with the other two. What had happened? You needed to find out. Looked like you would be sneaking away tonight.

* * *

 

They should really learn to post guards all around the area they’re guarding. Two guards at the front of your tent did little to keep you from sneaking out of the back.

 

Using the shadows of the other tents to sneak through the camp, you made your way the the royal tent. There were guards at the front here as well but, as with your tent, they failed to cover the back. You should really talk to Paladin or Gerson about that…

 

You moved around the large tent until you heard voices. You stopped to listen, crouching to the ground so as to remain hard to spot.

 

“...have taken so much. What choice do we have? What hope do we have of winning?” You recognized the soft voice of Queen Toriel.

 

“My Queen, I just don’t see how surrender could make it any better. The humans won’t treat us kindly.” Corsiva.

 

“Do you see a way for us to turn the tide in our favor, Corsiva?” King Asgore. “What of the human? They’ve been with us for weeks now; have you learned anything?”

 

This time Gerson spoke up. “___ is quite willing to help. Just today, she offered to help train our soldiers. But she is just one human, albeit an unusual one. There is only so much we can learn from her.”

 

Next came Gaster’s quiet voice. “Gerson is right. She knows little of their advanced weaponry, we won’t be able to learn how to better combat their guns from her.”

 

“What did you all expect from her? A full disclosure of every human strategy? She was just a foot soldier. She didn’t even really want to be there, she just joined because she didn’t know what else to do.” Paladin’s voice was the easiest for you to recognize. He sounded a little angry.

 

“Bottom line, we have nothing new to help us,” said Asgore. “Therefore, I have to agree with my wife. We have lost too much; let us not add more lives to the mix.”

 

“You’ll be sentencing us to death anyway. The humans will not negotiate with us, they’ll slaughter us.” For once, you found yourself agreeing with Corsiva.

 

“It is a risk we have to take.”

 

You couldn’t take it anymore. Lifting the bottom of the large tent, you rolled underneath and then ran to the war table, exclaiming, “NO! You can’t surrender, Corsiva is right!”

 

“___! What are you doing? Are you insane?” Paladin stepped towards you, his eye sockets wide in horror.

 

“Human! You have no business here! You were told to remain in your tent!” boomed Asgore.

 

You bowed your head. “I am sorry, Your Majesty, but I couldn’t stand by anymore. Corsiva is right, the humans will not accept your surrender. They will take advantage of the opportunity and kill you right there. And then they will fall upon the whole army. Leaderless, the monsters will lose.”

 

“So little faith in your own kind,” said Gerson.

 

“I’ve known many good humans, even in the army. But we as humans tend to be blinded by greed and jealousy and fear. That is what started this war and unless you do something about it, that is what will end it.”

 

“What could we possibly do?” asked Toriel.

 

You looked down at the large round table that they were all gathered around. Upon it was a large map of the region of what had once been all monster territory. Now, the only area that the monsters really had was from the edge of the forest up to the mountain. Any outstanding towns had been taken. You took a deep breath. What you were about to do was unquestionably treason. But you knew in your heart that it was the right thing.

 

“Winter is coming. With it, a pause in the fighting. With snowstorms coming in, the path to the mountain will be blocked. You will be safe. The humans will retreat from the frontlines for the season. But you should not do the same. Instead, you need to use the time to take back some of your land, one at a time, so that by the time winter is over, you have some breathing room. The outposts are far enough apart that with all of the snow, they won’t be able to call for reinforcements fast enough.”

 

Corsiva now had a look of excitement in her sockets, magic sparking off of her in response. “And they won’t be expecting it because they will expect us to retreat as well. They will fall lax in their duties.”

 

You nodded at her. “Exactly. The fighting will be easy. And you will have magic. Our magicians live pretty plush lives; they will all return home for the winter. There may be one in each outpost but they will be no match against a whole squadron or company. And it’s the perfect opportunity to make them think there’s more of you than there are. Their military vastly outnumbers yours but by the end of winter, they won’t be so sure.”

 

They were all studying you, in varying degrees of surprise or intrigue. Gerson looked a little smug for some reason.

 

“Why would you do this ___? You have only been among us for a few months; why would you want to help us, to aid us in the fight against your own kind?” he asked.

 

“Because in my time here, I have seen that you are all guided by love. Many have accepted me, despite the fact that I am human. Even when you get angry or threaten to kill me, it is out of  love for those you are charged to protect. And that is how I want to live. To fight because I have something behind me worth fighting for. Not because I wish to kill the enemy in front of me.”

 

Gerson nodded in satisfaction. Even Corsiva looked impressed.

 

You took a deep breath, bracing yourself for their reaction to your next words. “I do have one condition though. I understand that this a war, a war that you did not start, and casualties are to be expected. But I ask that every chance you get, you show mercy to the humans.”

 

Much as you had expected, there was an uproar at your words. Corsiva looked angry once again. “How can you possibly expect us to spare those who even you admit would slaughter us without a second thought?”

 

“So as to show them another way. I hope that if my fellow humans see the monsters showing them mercy, they will be moved to do the same. Those that you let live will return to their leaders, telling how monsters had every chance to kill them all off but instead they let them go. And maybe, by the time winter is over, they will be ready to negotiate peace. I want them to learn what I have. I ask that you give them that chance.”

 

They were all contemplating your words when a guard suddenly burst through the tent, panting. With a guilty start, you realized that it was one of yours.

 

“Your Majesty, the human has escaped! I have searched all throughout the camp and they are nowhere to be found. I--” He abruptly stopped speaking as his eyes found you.

 

“Thank you, Adrian,” said Asgore drily. “I think we’ve got it from here.”

* * *

 

You were outside of your tent with Paladin. After the meeting was over and you were dismissed, he had insisted on escorting you back. He had remained silent the whole walk back and you wondered if he was angry with you.

 

The two of you had been standing there in silence for several minutes now and you about to just say goodnight and head inside when he finally spoke.

 

“That was very brave of you, you know. You knew that they would probably be angry at you for sneaking out but you still did it. And now you may be what saves us all.”

 

You felt your face go red. “I’m not brave. I just couldn’t stand by and do nothing.”

 

He smiled softly. “I disagree that you are not brave. But yes, it has been clear to me from the beginning that your integrity is at the core of you are. It is what embodies your SOUL.”

 

As he said this, he pushed a strand of hair from your face, his white fingers brushing against your cheek. As they did, you felt the now familiar jump of joy in your chest. You saw him close his sockets. When he opened them, he was staring into your eyes in the way only he did, like he was looking into you and searching for something.

 

“Please tell me you feel that too.”

 

Your eyes widen and you nodded your head. He sighed in relief. “Thank Asgore, I thought it was just me.”

 

“What is it? That feeling?” Your voice came out as barely more than a whisper.

 

“It is our SOULs reacting to each other. They sense that their mate is close.” His hand came to rest just above your chest. As it did, a blue glow came to the surface but before it could come out completely, he retracted his hand and it disappeared.

 

Your eyes had been drawn to the glow, fascinated. But then you processed what he had said. “Their mate? As in…? Do you mean to say that we’re….?”

 

“Yes. I have known from the very first time we touched.”

 

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

 

“Because you were human and I was a monster. Because it should have been impossible. And because I did not wish to force anything on you.”

 

“But I am still human. And you are still a monster.”

 

“That is true. But I ask, what do you feel in your heart? In your SOUL?”

 

You looked into his sockets. “When you are not near, I feel restless. And when you are close, I feel at home, more than I ever did among my own kind. For the first time since my family died, I feel that I have finally found something, some _one_ , worth fighting for.”

 

Paladin stepped closer to you, his smile soft, stars appearing in his eyes. “Really?” he whispered.

 

You nodded, leaning in closer to him. This time you felt it as your SOUL yearned for him.

 

He was looking at you tenderly, the stars in his eyes shining brighter than those in the night sky. “___. My human. Can I kiss you?”

 

You nodded again. And with that, he needed no more prompting. He pulled you in and kissed you fiercely, hungrily. You returned the kiss with the same fervor. And as the kiss slowed and became deeper, you felt as your SOUL soared.

* * *

 

_-One Year Later-_

 

You were in a war chamber, frowning at the generals before you. After winter was over and the monsters had finally managed to get the humans to negotiate peace, they had made you their ambassador, hoping that negotiating with another human would help their cause. You had almost forgotten how frustrating your fellow humans could be. It had been months now and you had made little headway.

 

The lot of you had been talking for hours now and you had gotten nowhere. You could tell that they didn’t take you seriously; you suspected that they’d agreed to this meeting to simply satisfy their curiosity and in hopes of gaining some knowledge. You felt a lot of glares being pointed at you as well; you knew what many of them were thinking: _Traitor!_ But you stood tall, your head held high, one hand resting on the hilt of your sword.

 

“How can we be expected to trust the beasts? They have the ability to take a dead human’s SOUL and use it to become more powerful,” one of the generals was saying.

 

“But when was the last time a monster was known to do that? And in most cases, the human was an ally who fell in battle and gladly gave their SOUL. They do not abuse their power.”

 

“Enough of this. We have given you our terms,” said another one of the generals.

 

“What you have given me is little more than providing the monsters’ rights should they surrender! We are negotiating peace, a treaty so that humans and monsters can live in harmony, not your ultimate dominance over them!”

 

You heard as quiet laughter rippled through the generals, only fueling your anger. “I’m glad to see that matters of war are so funny to you!”

 

“What did you honestly expect, little missy? That we would so soon end a war that we have been winning since the beginning?”

 

“Can you be so sure of that victory now? What is the point of this war?”

 

“To prove that we are the superior species, of course,” said another general.

 

“Well, I can personally tell you that we are not.”

 

“How _dare_ you speak so traitorously in this war chamber!”

 

“I only speak the truth! How can call yourselves soldiers, leaders of man, when you have no honor?”

 

That cause an uproar and it was a long time before it calmed down.

 

Finally, the first general spoke again. “You better watch your tongue. Your political immunity as ambassador can only get you so far. I suggest we adjourn for today so that we can cool down. We will continue this discussion tomorrow. You are dismissed.”

 

Making a noise of frustration and anger, you spun on your heel with a flick of your cloak and exited the chamber. Outside on the street, you started making your way to the tavern that you and Paladin were staying in. He had insisted on coming with you to the village but you did not think it was safe for him to come with you to the war chamber.

 

As you walked, you muttered to yourself, fuming. Taking an alley that you knew was a shortcut to the tavern, you suddenly heard footsteps echo behind you. Stopping in your tracks, you looked behind you to see three figures at the end of the alley. They were clearly soldiers.

 

“Can I help you boys?” you called, gripping the hilt of your sword tightly.

 

“Are you the traitor?” asked one of them.

 

“Traitor is such a strong term. I am the human ambassador for the monsters, yes.”

 

“I didn’t know she was a woman,” muttered another one.

 

“It doesn’t matter, she’s still a traitor,” said the first one.

 

“I can hear you, y’know,” you said drily.

 

That made the first one angry and he took several steps toward you until he was just a couple feet away. “Hear this bitch!” He spat at you.

 

You raised an eyebrow. “Those weren’t exactly words.”

 

With a yell, he lunged at you, which you easily dodged but you were outnumbered and one of the others grabbed you and pushed you against the wall.

 

“She’s kind of pretty. Can we have some fun with her before we kill her?” the one that pinned you breathed in your face. You felt your heart constrict with fear.

 

The one that had spat at you laughed. “I like the way you think. She’s willing to consort with monsters; I say she deserves it.”

 

Determined not to go down without a fight, you reached for your knife but before you could draw it, the man pinning you was suddenly pulled off of you.

 

“What do you think you are doing with my human?” you heard a familiar voice ask, making you smile. Now just his voice had the ability to make your SOUL jump.

 

“Who the hell are you?”

 

Paladin’s hood fell back to reveal his skeletal face, his eyes glowing orange from anger. The other two shouted in shock and made to jump him but you drew your sword and tripped them both. As they fell to the ground, you placed your knee on one’s neck, applying just enough pressure for him to feel you but not choke him, and the point of your sword hovered over the other’s chest. You shook your head at both of them.

 

“I may be mistaken, but it sounded like you were about to do something very unpleasant to my human. Now, let me ask you,” His voice now vibrated with power. “ _DO YOU WANT TO HAVE A BAD TIME?_ ”

* * *

 

The two of you were now back at the tavern in the room you had rented, eating dinner. Paladin was still fuming.

 

“How’s the baby, by the way? Did he make the transition between Corsiva and Gaster okay?” You were trying to distract him but you really were curious. Corsiva had gotten pregnant with their second son but because she was still fighting, she and Gaster had agreed to have him carry it again. It involved some very complicated magic from what you could tell. You had no idea how it worked; you were just baffled that the male was carrying.

 

“The baby is fine. He is doing well with development. He is approaching the final stages. His SOUL was of course the first thing to form and then his body but his SOUL is still not quite complete. The magic is still working. It’s like he’s waiting for something.”

 

“Like what?”

 

“I’m not sure.” Several moments of silence and then...

 

“I really wish you hadn’t insisted I let those humans live,” Paladin said.

 

“I’m hoping that they learn something from the experience,” you said.

 

Paladin shook his head. “You have so much faith in people, you know?”

 

You shrugged. “I simply believe that they can do better.”

 

He huffed and you looked up at him with a smile. “Thank you for coming to my rescue.” You leaned in and kissed him on his teeth. You saw as he blushed orange and he suddenly became flustered. Standing up, he grabbed your hand and brought you to sit on the edge of the bed.

 

“___. There’s something that I’ve been meaning to ask you.”

 

You frowned, holding his hand in both of yours. “Okay.”

 

“A lot has happened in the past year. It’s been tough, it’s had its ups and down. But through it all, I had you and for that, I was grateful everyday.”

 

You were speechless but he wasn’t done.

 

“It wasn’t long before I fell in love with you. And though I sensed that you felt the same, I was still nervous the first time I told you. Oh how my SOUL soared when you said it back. I had never been so happy. And everyday, I fall deeper in love with you and now I know I cannot live without you. I want to be a part of you, and you of me, truly and completely, for the rest of our lives. Which brings me to my question.” He took both of his hands in yours.

 

“___, my human, will you do me the greatest honor of becoming my life partner, my other half. My SOULmate, as I know in mine that we are meant to be. My SOUL yearns for yours and cannot be complete until they have become one.”

 

Your eyes widened. “You want to SOUL bond?”

 

He ducked his head. “I know that it is a lot to ask. If you want, we could wait a little longer, maybe we can get married the human way--”

 

You interrupted him with a deep and passionate kiss. Pulling away, you said, “Yes. Yes, I will.”

 

His sockets widening, a look of pure joy came on Paladin’s face and the stars that you loved came to his eyes, making your heart leap. “Really?”

 

You nodded. “When?”

 

“When do you think you’ll be ready?”

 

“I’m ready now,” you said without hesitation. “I’m ready to claim you as mine forever.”

 

His grin became wide and he nodded. Pushing you back onto the bed, he placed a hand over his chest and concentrated. A white and orange glow began emanating from his chest and he slowly drew out his SOUL. It’s soft white glow lit up the room, orange magic swirling around it. You stared at in awe. “Your SOUL is beautiful,” you whispered.

 

Without answering, Paladin placed his other hand over your chest and soon your SOUL was out as well, except yours was completely blue and upturned. “As is yours,” Paladin said, his smile tender. “Are you ready?”

 

You nodded eagerly and with that he took both SOULs and pushed them together. As they touched, a bright light filled the room and for the first time in your life, you felt whole and at peace.

* * *

 

Your sword ran down your opponent’s until you were hilt to hilt, straining against each other, your faces inches from each other. Their eyes widened underneath their helm as they realized that you were human too. Then, you saw a flash of anger. “You bloody fucking traitor. How can you fight against your own like this?”

 

“I am with my own,” you said.

 

Another flash of anger. “Then you can die with them.” Pushing back against you, they kicked you, sending you flying back. But before they could finish you, what appeared to be a disembodied skeleton’s hand caught their sword arm and lifted them up into the air and dropped them. They didn’t move again.

 

Looking back into the mountain cave behind you, you nodded at a still very pregnant Gaster barely visible in the darkness and then went back to the battle.

 

The humans had found the monster camp and had fallen upon it without mercy. They had brought all of their new war machinery, from the redesigned cannons and trebuchets to guns, along with a whole company of magicians. Already, most of the monster army had been cut down. You had all been forced back to the entrance to the mountain. Paladin and Gerson fought on your left, King Asgore and Corsiva on your right. Gaster and Queen Toriel were in the cave, using their magic to help you. As two Boss Monsters, they were able to give even a whole company of magicians a hard time. But it wasn’t enough.

 

One of the Tem’s that acted as a spy for the king had revealed that the humans had a plan to trap the monsters in the mountain with some sort of spell. They had received the information too late to evacuate the civilian monsters in the mountain and so had fallen to protecting the mountain and trying to prevent it from happening. The king and Paladin had tried to persuade you to go in the mountain to wait with the civilians but you refused. You couldn’t just stand by when you knew you could be doing something. These monsters had become your family, you wanted to fight for and with them.

 

You found that you had little mercy to offer to those who threatened the people you loved. As you cut down another opponent, you heard a whistling and looked up to see trebuchet rocks coming at you. Your eyes widened as you stared; you knew you wouldn’t be able to move out of the way fast enough.

 

Suddenly, a green light filled your vision and the rocks shattered against the shield. Looking to your left, you saw a familiar young monster, a look of concentration on his face as he used his magic to protect you. “Rowan!” you exclaimed. He smiled at you but then there was a loud blast and a look of shock came to his face. Before you could register what had happened, you saw his HP fall and he was disintegrating into dust before you. “NO!” You rushed the person who had shot him, who was struggling to reload their gun. Knocking it out of their hand, you brought your sword down between their helm and armor, catching them on the neck. With a jerk, you pulled your blade back and they fell.

 

You heard a yell of pain and you looked to see as Gerson fell. He had been caught on the leg and now he couldn’t get up; his war hammer had fallen out his reach so he couldn’t defend himself. Immediately, you and Paladin rushed to his aid but just as you caught his attacker’s weapon on yours, you heard a high pitched shriek come from behind in the cave. Dread filled your chest and you risked a look back to see little Undyne running from out of the darkness, brandishing a spear over her head. She must have been hiding in the cave and couldn’t stay anymore as she watched Gerson fall.

 

Kicking the soldier away, you turned to the cave. “GASTER, STOP HER!” Another skeleton hand appeared, this time catching Undyne by her clothes and pulling her back kicking and screaming. Sighing in relief, you looked down at Gerson, who nodded in thanks. Then his eyes widened in horror.

 

“___ WATCH OUT!” you heard Paladin scream and suddenly you were pushed to the ground. The next thing you felt was pain like you had never imagined, causing you to let out a terrible scream. It felt as though your very SOUL was ripping apart. Fear filling your chest, you turned to see that Paladin, your SOULmate, your stupid skeleton, had shielded you from someone running you through. With his own body. The end of the human’s sword stuck out from his back and he had a look of triumph on his face as Paladin’s HP slowly lowered.

 

Red filled your vision and despite the crippling pain in your SOUL, you leapt to your feet and ran at the soldier with a scream, running your sword clean through his armor and letting go as he fell. You then turned to Paladin, tears streaming down your face. His knees buckled and you caught him as he fell, gently lowering him to the ground. Other monster soldiers leapt to protect you, Asgore and Corsiva at the front and fighting the hardest but all your attention was focused at the skeleton in your arms, your SOUL still feeling like it was going to break.

 

“I’m sorry Paladin, I’m so sorry. This is all my fault. It should be me. Please don’t go, don’t leave me,” you sobbed.

 

He looked at you tenderly, his hand coming up to caress your face. You leaned into it and held onto it, as though you thought you could force him to live just by holding tight. “Don’t ever be sorry. I don’t regret what I did, I would do it again,” he whispered, causing you to sob even harder.

 

“But what about our forever?”

 

The lights in his eyes were fading. “Our story isn’t over. We’re SOULmates. You’ll find me again, I know you will. I believe in you, ___.” And those were his last words as he too disintegrated into dust in your arms as you watched in horror. It was like it was happening in slow motion, until the only thing left was his SOUL and then that disintegrated too, becoming like a white and orange mist that drifted into the cave. As it did, the pain in your SOUL suddenly stopped but now you felt empty, hollow.

 

Looking up, you saw that Corsiva was looking at you and she too had tears streaming from her sockets as she saw that her little brother was dead. Suddenly, her eyes went wide and she gripped her chest and she looked towards the cave. At the same time, you heard a yell from inside.

 

Looking back, you saw that Gaster had fallen to the ground, gripping his swollen stomach, which was really just a cocoon of magic meant to hold the baby. And it was currently glowing white and orange. You didn’t need Gaster’s confirmation to know what was happening.

 

“The baby is coming!”

 

You looked back at Corsiva. As you had literally just lost your own SOULmate, you understood how she was probably feeling. Meeting her gaze, the two of you stared at each other for several moments and then nodded in unison.

 

Spinning her sword in her hand, Corsiva brought it down to the ground with a yell, sending a purple wave that sent all humans within a 100 foot radius flying. She then summoned a wall of bones; it wouldn't stand long, but it would give you all some time. With temporary relief, she turned to Asgore. As she did, you finally stood up, grabbing Paladin’s fallen sword from the ground.

 

“Your Majesty, I must ask you to retreat into the mountain. Take Gerson and go.”

 

Asgore growled. “I am not a coward who goes running when a fight gets tough Corsiva.”

 

You spoke up, your voice hoarse. “No but we have no hope of winning this battle and you cannot leave the monsters without a king and without an heir. The humans merely intend to trap you, they will not enter the mountain. You can figure out how to break the barrier from inside.”

 

“Please Your Majesty, my husband needs to be taken to safety so that my son can be born in a secure place.”

 

Asgore looked between the two of you, at your set faces. “And what will you two do?” He sounded like he already knew.

 

“We will give you as much time we can,” you said.

 

“But we won’t be joining you,” added Corsiva.

 

“And I can’t dissuade you from this choice, can I?”

 

The two of you looked at each other. You were both determined.  You turned to back to the king and in unison said, “No.”

 

Nodding, he said, “Very well. Know that your heroism will never be forgotten.” He bent and picked up Gerson but before he could go, Corsiva called for him one more time. As he turned, she pulled of a red scarf from her neck. You had noticed that she wore this scarf to every battle. Holding it up to Asgore, she said, “Make sure my newborn son gets this, so that he will always have a piece of his mother and know that I love him.”

 

His eyes shining, Asgore nodded and took the scarf and then proceeded to run into the cave, calling for his remaining soldiers to follow and yelling at Toriel to help Gaster deeper into the mountain.

 

Together, you and Corsiva turned to the army before you, who had finally managed to break down the wall. Taking your stances, you heard her say, “I underestimated you human.”

 

You smiled, though it felt strange. “And I underestimated you.”

 

And with that, you charged. You have no idea how many you took down. You fought with the desperation of someone with something to protect but who wasn't afraid to die. Together, you and Corsiva cut a circle of your own. She used her magic to fight as well and helped you to last longer. But it wasn’t long before the first blow landed. And then the next. A shot rang out, catching you in the shoulder and causing you to stumble. A blade caught you in the stomach and you fell. Your vision darkening, you saw Corsiva leap in front of you but it wasn’t long before she too was cut down.

 

As she began to disintegrate, she turned to you. She bowed her head to you and then closed her eyes as she became dust.

 

Another shot sent you flying back. Your last sight was that of a group of magicians approaching the mountain and mouthing words you couldn’t hear, their hands outstretched before them. Then you closed your eyes and you as began to fade into blackness, you made a silent promise.

 

_I will find you, Paladin. I promise. No matter how long it takes._


	3. Part 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was probably not actually necessary for me to make this a third part, as it's so short but it felt right to.

You sat in the bookstore where you worked, writing in a journal. There were no customers in the store at the moment so you were taking the time to write out an idea that had been stuck in your head. You were so focused on what you were writing, you didn’t notice the store bell ring and two figures walk in, one tall and one small.

 

You continued to write for several minutes. Suddenly, a loud voice spoke to you, making you jump and nearly fall out of your chair.

 

“EXCUSE ME!”

 

Catching the yourself on the counter, you yelled out, “Holy shhhiiietake mushrooms.” You barely managed not to curse and looked up to see a rather tall skeleton wearing a red scarf and some other strange clothing standing before you, holding a book. A small human child stood next to them, looking like they were trying hard not to laugh. The sight of the skeleton only took you off guard for a moment. Monsters had been freed from Mt. Ebott for several months now, so you had grown used to seeing them around. Though few had come into your store. And none looked like this skeleton. There was something familiar about him though…

 

The skeleton’s loud voice brought you out of your reverie.

 

“HELLO NEW HUMAN, I DID NOT MEAN TO SCARE YOU. I WAS LOOKING FOR PUZZLE BOOKS AS I LOVE PUZZLES AND WANTED TO SOLVE SOME WITH MY BEST FRIEND FRISK WHEN I GOT DISTRACTED BY THIS BOOK ABOUT HUMAN SOLDIERS. FOR I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM A MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GUARD MYSELF AND SO WAS QUITE INTRIGUED AND WAS WONDERING IF THIS IS HOW HUMAN SOLDIERS REALLY LOOKED.”

 

He presented to you a book open to a picture of a medieval knight. It was taking you a moment to find your voice after your scare and the skeleton seemed to notice.

 

“I SEE THAT I HAVE LEFT YOU SPEECHLESS. COMPLETELY NORMAL IN MY PRESENCE. FOR I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS AFTER ALL, NYEH HEH HEH.” He struck a pose, causing you to giggle.

 

Finally finding your voice, you managed to answer his question. “That is a knight from around the 15th century. That is how human soldiers used to look but they don’t anymore, though some humans do like to dress up like that. I believe that particular knight was called a paladin, which was a knight who was renowned for heroism and chivalry.”

 

“WOWIE! THANK YOU NEW HUMAN!”

 

Laughing softly, you said, “You’re welcome,” and leaned down to pick up your journal, which you had dropped in your attempt to keep yourself from falling.

 

Noticing it, the skeleton who called himself the Great Papyrus asked, “WHAT IS THAT HUMAN?”

 

You looked down at your beaten journal, your face going a little red. “Oh, just my journal. I write down ideas when they come to me. I was working on getting one down when you came in, which is why I didn’t hear you come in. I’m sorry about that.”

 

“IT IS OKAY HUMAN. IF I MAY ASK, WHAT WERE YOU WRITING ABOUT?”

 

You squirmed. “Nothing important. Just some dumb thoughts.”

 

“IF IT IS IMPORTANT ENOUGH FOR YOU TO WRITE DOWN, THEN IT MUST NOT BE DUMB. I’M SURE YOU HAVE WONDERFUL IDEAS. I BELIEVE IN YOU NEW HUMAN.

 

You laughed a little. “Thank you. But you don’t even know my name.”

 

His sockets widened. “OH, HOW RUDE OF ME FOR NOT ASKING! IS IT TOO LATE TO ASK FOR THE PLEASURE OF KNOWING YOUR NAME?” He held out his hand to you.

Smiling, you took it in yours. Immediately, you felt a tugging in your chest. “___. My name is ___.”

 

Papyrus was staring down at your joined hands, frowning. But when he looked up at you, his face cleared. It looked gentle, his voice going soft as he spoke again, catching you off guard more than his normal voice had.

 

“___. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

 

And as you looked into each other’s eyes, you saw as stars appeared in his eyes and you felt your SOUL soar and you thought you heard a whisper in your head say, _I finally found you._

**Author's Note:**

> If you follow my other fic, Heart of Gold, I apologize for not updating in so long. College got busy and then I had this idea. I was going to write the next chapter before writing this but I was so excited that I had to get it down. I promise that it's next on my to do list! Thank you for reading and for being so patient! You guys are awesome!


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